


Leo's Route

by chorus_fruit



Category: Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club
Genre: Competitive Characters, Demiromantic Character, Drama & Romance, Friends to Lovers, Multi, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV First Person, Self-Insert, Trans Male Character, i can't believe i'm actually posting this, takes place during Paul's route (best end), updates will be random at best
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-03-26 03:31:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13849173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chorus_fruit/pseuds/chorus_fruit
Summary: Leo Fraggle wants to be friends with Jeff "SpaceHamster" Fabre. Nothing more. Aiko Kimura, Leo's roommate, seems to have other ideas.(I'm terrible at summaries, sorry)





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm finally posting this, after having tried to write it four or five times. I'm hoping that maybe if I post it it'll force me to finish it...but we all know that's not true. I'm going to to my absolute best to keep this thing going, but there aren't any promises ^^;
> 
> Aaaaaanyway, I hope you enjoy!

I stood at the back of the train, my Gintendo messenger bag slung over my shoulder, suitcase in one hand and guitar case in the other. Standing near me were Aiko and Anzu Kimura, a pair of twins. Aiko was my roommate, and Anzu was a close friend. The three of us were having trouble finding a place to sit on the train, which was a terrible situation to be in; the train was about to leave.

 

“Last compartment, please be empty…” Anzu said aloud. She was a bit of a stout girl with bobbed, black hair and star hair pins that held her bangs out of her eyes. She stuck her head into the compartment and immediately let out a squeak.

 

“Is it empty?” Her brother, Aiko, asked. He had black hair as well, but it was longer than Anzu’s and tied back in a bun at the nape of his neck. He always had dark circles under his eyes.

 

“No, but there’s enough empty seats for us,” Anzu said, holding back laughter. She spoke to whoever was in the compartment next: “‘Scuze me! Could we sit here?”

 

A voice from inside the compartment spoke. “Of course!”

 

Anzu disappeared inside the compartment. Next was Aiko. Then, it was my turn.

 

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

 

Sitting there, casually, all on their 4DSes, were two members of the Hidden Block club and one member of the Normal Boots club. The two most popular clubs in school. No wonder Anzu had squeaked.

 

Anzu sat down, Aiko next to her. I set my things down, took off my Gintendo messenger bag, and sat down as well, albeit stiffly. I suddenly felt very self-conscious.

 

Anzu breathed in and then exhaled loudly, letting herself slouch. “Hello!” She exclaimed, looking over at the Normal Boots club member, who was sitting directly across from her. “It’s PBG, right?”

 

“Yep,” PBG said. He didn’t look up from his 4DS. “You?”

 

“I’m Anzu,” Anzu said. “That’s my twin brother Aiko, and that’s our friend, Leo.”

 

The train lurched. We were off.

 

“Sweet, nice to meet ya,” PBG said, clearly entranced with his game. Inspired, I dug my own 4DS out of my Gintendo bag, and placed my copy of the latest Nokemon game inside. As soon as I turned the device on, I remembered that I was stuck on a gym with one Nokemon left and no revives. So I switched the game to Stomp.

 

“Aw maaaan!” PBG exclaimed, leaning his head back in apparent defeat. “I just lost. Big time.”

 

“Sorry about that, dude,” Aiko said, fiddling with the button on his uniform shirt sleeve.

 

“Hey, Leo has one of those,” Anzu leaned forward to look at me. “Look! He’s on it right now.”

 

I shut my 4DS quickly, embarrassed. PBG was looking at me with big puppy-dog eyes.

 

“So he is,” PBG said. “You got Stomp?”

 

I opened my 4DS back up and turned the screen to face PBG. He smiled.

 

“Wanna play with us? We could use a player four,” he said. I blushed. A member of the most popular club in school just asked me to play Stomp, a game I was fairly terrible at, with him and his friends.

 

“Yeah, you should play!” Anzu exclaimed. 

 

“You totally should,” Aiko backed her up.

 

“Uh, sure,” I succumbed to peer pressure. As I spoke, one of the Hidden Block club members sighed, and the other raised his fist in the air triumphantly. 

 

“I win!” The one who raised his fist in the air said.

 

“That’s cool, I wanted to get in second place anyway,” the other one said sarcastically.

 

I laughed. “Hey, PBG, mind introducing me to your friends?”

 

“Uh, sure,” PBG said. “Anzu, Aiko, Leo, that’s Jeff and Ian. Jeff, Ian, that’s Anzu, Aiko, and Leo.”

 

“‘Sup,” Ian, a boy with brown hair and tired-looking eyes greeted me.

 

“Nice to meet you all!” Jeff, a boy with some of the most impressive cheekbones I’d ever seen, spoke. “So, Leo, you’re going to play with us?”

 

He turned to me. Something about his eyes and his smile made my words hitch in my throat. Since I couldn’t speak, I nodded my head.

 

“Sweet,” Jeff said. “PBG? Care to set up another game?”

 

“I’m on it!” PBG exclaimed. I went to Stomp mode, and then to group. My 4DS searched for a game to join. It took a second for PBG’s game to pop up, but when it did, I joined immediately. 

 

We all picked our characters. The stage was set to random. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a stage I hated.

 

“God, I hate this stage,” I whispered to myself.

 

“What was that?” PBG asked.

 

“Nothing, nothing,” I said.

 

“He said ‘god, I hate this stage,” Aiko repeated. I elbowed him.

 

“We can switch it if you want,” PBG said. He was making a puppy-dog face. I was tempted to elbow Aiko again, harder this time, but I didn’t.

 

“No, that’s okay,” I said. “I can deal with it.”

 

The stage loaded in, and then the game started.

 

Quickly, I went after Jeff’s character. I figured that since he had won the last round, he’d be the hardest to get rid of, so going after him right away seemed like a good idea. It proved to be a bad one the moment I got caught in a combo, and my character went flying across the screen. 

 

A quick tilt of the control stick helped my character recover, but my damage was high. As I was recovering, Jeff went after PBG, catching him in a combo as well. PBG was defenseless. He wasn’t able to recover from being knocked backwards and fell off the stage. He now had two lives left.

 

I decided to go after Ian’s character; no one had really interacted with him yet and he was kind of just hiding in a corner. We fought for several agonizing moments, neither one of us gaining advantage over the other. I blocked with my bubble-like shield, and Ian relentlessly attacked me until the shield broke. He tried to attack, but I grabbed his character and threw him down at the ground. His damage was high.

 

While PBG was respawning, Jeff went after Ian. He was knocked out quickly. Ian was left with two lives.

 

I decided to hide in a corner and wait for Ian to respawn. PBG went after Jeff, and I watched as, shockingly, Jeff’s damage percentage rose, and rose, and rose, until he was knocked across the screen; not dead, but barely able to recover.

 

Ian respawned and I attacked him the moment he hit the ground. Meanwhile, Jeff was getting his revenge on PBG, who was knocked off the screen and lost a life. PBG was down to one life, and I was starting to feel afraid; Jeff was not one to be messed with, it seemed. 

 

Jeff’s damage was high, so I figured now would be a good time to attack and possibly rid him of a life. Instead of going alone, I decided to ask for help.

 

“Let’s all go after Jeff!” I exclaimed, “he’s too good for any one of us to take on alone.”

 

“I’m not  _ that _ good, you guys are just terrible,” Jeff said with a laugh.

 

“He’s not wrong,” Ian said. “But sure. Let’s all go after him.”

 

Everyone went after Jeff. It was a hot mess, but we knocked Jeff out, bringing him down to two lives. Now I was the only one with all my lives left, and I could tell it wasn’t going to end well.

 

“Hey! Let’s all go after Leo!” Jeff exclaimed, mocking me. “He’s got more lives than the rest of us.”

 

“Hey!” I exclaimed.

 

Jeff winked in my direction. I made an angry face.

 

Everyone was attacking me. I didn’t even bother to fight back, as I knew it was a lost cause. I was knocked out and now had two lives. 

 

As I was respawning, Ian attacked PBG and knocked him out; PBG had been on his last life, and was now out of the game. 

 

“Aw, c’mon!” PBG exclaimed.

 

I respawned and went after Ian, knocking him out. Next, Jeff attacked me, sending me flying across the screen. I used my up-B to recover. Ian had respawned at this point, and bravely went after Jeff. Surprisingly, he managed to catch Jeff in a combo before Jeff counter-attacked and sent Ian’s damage way up there.

 

Both Ian and Jeff had high damage. I was the only one with zero, having just respawned. I decided to attack Ian, just to get him out of the way.

 

I knocked him out. It was just me and Jeff, now.

 

“You’re pretty good,” Jeff said.

 

“I’m really not,” I replied, running after Jeff and attacking him. He grabbed me, hit me a few times, and threw me at the ground, sending my damage percentage through the roof. We were both high in damage, both with two lives. It was anyone’s game.

 

Meanwhile, PBG had struck up a conversation with Anzu. Aiko was looking over my shoulder, making me feel self-conscious. Ian was looking over Jeff’s shoulder, as well.

 

I attacked. Jeff counter-attacked, launching me across the screen; I wasn’t knocked out yet, though, and I recovered quickly. I attacked again and knocked Jeff out.

 

He had one life. I was  _ so  _ close.

 

“Yeah! Go Leo!” Aiko exclaimed. I glanced at him. As I was doing so, Jeff attacked me and knocked me out.

 

We were both on one life with no damage points. Jeff use one of his taunts as he waited for me to respawn.

 

I fell to the ground off my respawn platform and did the only thing I could do: attack.

 

We fought at each other for what felt like an eternity. Jeff grabbed me, beat me up, and threw me down at the ground. I blocked with my bubble-like shield until Jeff’s attacks broke it. Jeff caught me in a combo. I caught Jeff in a combo. Both our damages were high, and I really felt like I was going to win.

 

And then Jeff knocked me out.

 

I sunk down in my seat. Jeff raised his fist in the air happily.

 

“Alright!” Jeff exclaimed. “Good game, everyone.”

 

“You were  _ so close _ , man!” Aiko said. “Maybe you would have won if it wasn’t on that map you hated.”

 

“Maybe,” I said.

 

PBG laughed at something Anzu had said. Realizing the game was over, he turned back to us.

 

“That was intense,” PBG said. “Wanna play again?”

 

“I’m up for another game,” Jeff said. “Leo? Ian?”

 

“Sure!” I exclaimed.

 

“I guess so,” Ian said.

 

We played, and played, and played, until the train began to slow.

 

We finished up our current game. Jeff had won again, though I’d managed to win a few of the other games we’d played.

 

“Well, it was nice to meet you guys!” Anzu exclaimed after the train had stopped. 

 

“Likewise!” PBG exclaimed. “Aiko and Leo, too!”

 

“Leo, we should totally play Stomp again sometime!” Jeff exclaimed. “Or maybe something else. I’m a bit Stomped out.”

 

“Me too,” I said through a laugh. “I’ll crush you in Nario Kart, though.”

 

“Absolutely!” Jeff said. “Let’s catch up later!”

 

We all gathered up our things and left the train, following the crowd of people towards the massive, black metal gate of Asagao Academy. I felt giddy inside. I had just basically become friends with two Hidden Block members and a Normal Boots member. Was this my chance to become popular? To become a member of one of the clubs? I my heart I knew it wasn’t possible, but I could dream.

 

The gate slowly opened, and the moment there was enough room for a person to squeeze through, the crowd began to move. Aiko and Anzu close to me, I walked onto campus.

 

The crowd split off in different directions. Anzu went towards Primrose House, leaving me and Aiko alone. I turned to him.

 

“To Bluebell?” I asked.

 

“To Bluebell,” he repeated, but not as a question. We began walking towards Bluebell House, the boy’s dorms. Every time I entered the building, I felt euphoric; I was a transgender boy, and despite that, the officials at Asagao allowed me to room with all the cisgender boys. I felt more accepted at Asagao than I did at my own home.

 

Aiko knew of this, of course. He was cisgender, but didn’t mind.

 

We entered the building. I glanced at Aiko. He was thinking the same thing I was thinking;  _ first one to room 406 gets the top bunk. _

 

We started running. I was at a disadvantage, with my guitar in one of my hands. Room 406 was up several flights of stairs, and I was winded by the time I reached the top. We brushed past bodies and corners, and ultimately, Aiko reached the room first.

 

I struggled to catch my breath as I entered the room behind him. He set his luggage on the floor and climbed up to the top bunk, claiming his prize.

 

“Not fair,” I said, setting my suitcase down. “I have more luggage than you.”

 

“Not fair,” Aiko imitated me unflatteringly. “Whatever. What matters is that  _ I  _ got the top bunk and you didn’t.”

 

I huffed a breath, sliding my Gintendo bag off my shoulder and letting it fall to the floor. Guess I was stuck with the bottom bunk. For the second year in a row.

 

“Dude, I’m hungry,” Aiko said. “Lemme know when you’re ready to go eat. That was a long-ass train ride.”

 

“Yeah, sure,” I said. “I’ll just unpack a few things first.”

 

The room was pristine, not at all like we’d left it last year. The powder-blue walls seemed to have been re-painted and repaired; when I’d taken down my posters last year, the tape pulled some of the paint with it. The hardwood floor was rid of the coffee stain (Aiko’s fault), and the dresser appeared to have been replaced.

 

I set my guitar down in a far corner, resting it against the two adjoining walls. It was a bit difficult for me to play it after an injury I’d gotten over break (it was a small injury on the tip of one of my fingers, but it definitely made guitar playing more difficult than it needed to be). I loved playing it anyway.

 

I set my suitcase on the bottom bunk and unzipped it. It contained my electronics, clothes, plushies, a blanket, and other random belongings. I took out the electronics (my gaming laptop, my drawing tablet, and my wireless headphones) out of my suitcase and set them on one of the provided desks. Next, I unpacked my plushies and my blanket, setting them carelessly on the bottom bunk. I left the clothes in the suitcase; I’d take care of them later. Or maybe not at all.

 

Lastly, I picked up my Gintendo bag from the floor and set it next to my desk.

 

“Let’s go eat,” I said. Aiko didn’t hear me. I stood on the edge of the lower bunk, peering over the edge of the top at Aiko. He was lying down on his back, looking up at his phone, with his earbuds in.

 

“Aiko!” I exclaimed, shaking the bunk. Calmly, he pulled out one earbud.

 

“Food time?” He asked, still staring at his phone.

 

“Food time,” I agreed. “Where should we go? It’s Sunday, we can go pretty much anywhere we want.”

 

“Anzu texted me. Her and Yuri want to meet us at the cafeteria.”

 

“That’s  _ boring _ !” I whined, throwing my head back and nearly falling over.

 

“I don’t wanna go into town,” Aiko said, “it would require another train ride and man, I just want food.”

 

“Fine, whatever,” I said. “Let’s go to the cafeteria.”

 

Aiko lead the way, and soon enough, we were getting lunch. I grabbed a turkey sandwich with some salt and vinegar chips before we began to look for Anzu and Yuri.

 

Yuri Yamazaki was Anzu’s roommate and a stereotypical bookworm. She had big, round glasses, long, wavy brown hair, and belonged to Asagao’s Literature Club. The Literature Club wasn’t a popular enough club to warrant having their own jackets, unfortunately. However, Yuri was dead-set on making them more popular than Normal Boots.

 

“Anzu! Yuri!” Aiko yelled across the cafeteria. I looked towards where he was looking. It looked like Anzu and Yuri had already found a table. Anzu waved towards us, both her arms in the air, high above her head.

 

The two of us pushed through the crowd, towards Anzu and Yuri’s table. We sat down, setting our trays on the table, and while I launched into conversation with Anzu and Yuri, Aiko dug into his food.

 

“What did you guys do over break?” Anzu asked cheerily. “Aiko and I went to Peru with our family. I learned how to surf, it was awesome.”

 

“That’s so cool!” I exclaimed. “All I did was play video games.”

 

“That’s nice,” Yuri said quietly. She was soft-spoken, but determined in everything she did. “I...I read a lot of books, mostly.”

 

“Mostly?” Aiko said with his mouth full. “You did things  _ besides _ reading books?”

 

“Well,” Yuri began, looking down at her food and brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear, “I got a job, I guess.”

 

“Where?” I asked.

 

“At a small coffee shop near my house. And...I guess...I met someone.”

 

Suddenly, Anzu slammed her hands down on the table. “YOU WHAT?”

 

Yuri and I both jumped, startled. Aiko seemed unfazed.

 

“I met this boy, he’s really nice,” Yuri said, twiddling her fingers. “He...um...he…”

 

“Yeah, go on,” Anzu said.

 

“He asked me on a date and I accidentally stood him up!” Yuri exclaimed, looking back up at us.

 

Anzu burst out laughing. Aiko snorted. I raised my eyebrows.

 

“How the  _ hell _ do you accidentally stand someone up?” Anzu asked through laughs.

 

“I was reading...and...I just...I just  _ forgot _ , okay?” Yuri said. “I had just gotten to the good part.”

 

Anzu laughed harder. Aiko and I went back to our food. 

 

“OH!” Anzu interrupted her own laughter. “Yuri! You’ll  _ never _ guess who we sat with on the train.”

 

“You didn’t tell her?” I asked.

 

“Who did you sit with?” Yuri turned to Anzu curiously.

 

“A Normal Boots club member and two Hidden Block club members!” Anzu squealed. 

 

“What?!” Yuri exclaimed. It was the loudest I’d ever heard her speak. “Which ones?!”

 

“Jeff, Ian, and PBG!” Anzu exclaimed. “They were  _ super _ nice, and even played a few games of Stomp with Leo!”

 

Yuri’s eyes widened, and she looked directly at me. “You got to play video games with them?!”

 

Sheepishly, I nodded. “I won a few games, too.”

 

“Against a Normal Boots member?!” Yuri exclaimed. “I knew you liked games, but I didn’t know you were  _ good _ !”

 

“To be fair, neither me nor any of the club members are very good,” I said. “The only one who gave me some real competition was Jeff. Even then, I don’t think he’s  _ that _ good because I managed to beat him a few times and I’m terrible at Stomp.”

 

“Still!” Yuri mused. “I can’t believe you beat a Normal Boots member at Stomp! I’ll have to tell the Literature club about this…”

 

Lunch ended soon after that conversation. I followed Aiko back to Bluebell, but halfway up the stairs, a familiar voice stopped me.

 

“Hey! Leo!” The voice, Jeff’s voice, said. He ran up the stairs to catch up to me, and I stopped in my tracks.

 

“Hey,” I said casually, turning to him and leaning against the railing. “What’s up?”

 

“I was wondering,” he began, “if I could get your number—just so I can contact you so we can play games again sometime!”

 

He quickly defended himself, as though he didn’t want me to think he was making romantic advances. I laughed a little.

 

“Sure,” I said, “you got a pen?”

 

“Uh, yeah,” he said, pulling one out of the pocket of his Hidden Block club jacket. He handed it to me.

 

“Gimme your hand,” I said. He held out his hand and I wrote my number on the back of it.

 

When I was finished, I handed him the pen back. He looked at the digits I’d written on his hand for a moment.

 

“Sweet, thanks!” He exclaimed. “I’ll text you later.”

 

He bounded back down the stairs and I turned back to Aiko. He was staring at me.

 

“I think he likes you,” Aiko teased.

 

“Shut your fuck, he’s probably straight anyway,” I said.

 

“Oh, so  _ you _ like _ him _ ?” Aiko asked, beginning to walk up the stairs.

 

“I  _ never _ said that!” I rebuted quickly. “Besides, you  _ know _ that I’m demiromantic. He’s barely a friend yet.”

 

Aiko turned back to me just to roll his eyes. “Whatever.”

 

We went back to our room. I went to bed that night with a smile on my face; a member of Hidden Block had my phone number and wanted to play games with me!


	2. Day 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a new student at Asagao. Also, Leo and Jeff play some games.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I've gotten a few kudos on this fic with is a few more than I expected so that's cool! Also, I mention a place in Minnesota called "Roseville" in this chapter. It's a real place, it's somewhat near where I actually live, and it fits the flower theme, so I thought it'd work p well! Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

The next morning, I woke up after Aiko.

 

I rolled over in bed, finding Aiko sitting on the floor and brushing his hair. Two black hair binders were on his wrists like bracelets and he was already dressed in his uniform.

 

I grabbed my phone off the nightstand, where it sat overnight, charging. I checked the time. There was still about an hour before we had to be in class.

 

“How long have you been up?” I asked groggily. Aiko turned to me, suddenly realizing that I was awake.

 

“Since about…” Aiko thought for a moment, going back to brushing his hair. “Four? Four sounds about right.”

 

I sat up. “You’ve been awake since  _ four _ ?!”

 

“Well, yeah,” Aiko said. “But I also was kind of sleeping on and off all night. Insomnia, y’know? So I probably didn’t even get three hours of sleep.”

 

“Don’t you have meds?” I asked.

 

“I forgot to take them, oops,” Aiko said. “I’ll take them tonight. I promise.”

 

“You’d better,” I said. Last year, he hadn’t been medicated, and the bags under his eyes were unbearable to look at. “If you fall asleep during class I’m not responsible.”

 

“Oh, speaking of class,” Aiko said, “have you heard about the transfer student?”

 

“Are they in our class?” I asked.

 

“Yeah,” Aiko said. “She’s this girl with glasses and  _ bright pink _ hair. You can’t miss her.”

 

“She has pink hair?” I asked. “That’s cool.”

 

“I know, but,” Aiko said, “she’s, like, a  _ complete _ main character. Anzu texted me and apparently she already knows Jared from Normal Boots.”

 

“Well,  _ we _ already know  _ three _ popular club members, and we’re total losers, so that’s not saying much,” I said.

 

“We’re not  _ total _ losers, Leo,” Aiko said. He had finished brushing his hair at this point and was now using his two hair binders to put his locks in a bun at the nape of his neck. “But I guess you have a point.”

 

“We’ll just see how today plays out, I guess,” I said.

 

I grabbed my uniform and headed to the bathroom to get dressed. I hated getting dressed in front of people—I couldn’t get surgery yet, so I wore a binder to flatten my chest. I changed in a stall and right as I was walking out, my phone buzzed.

 

**Unknown Number** _ 6:41 AM _

Good morning! (This is Jeff btw).

 

Quickly, I added his number into my phone, under the name “SpaceHamster”. I texted him back as I returned to room 406.

 

**You** _ 6:42 AM _

mornin’

 

**SpaceHamster** _ 6:42 AM _

I was wondering if you were free later to play some games?

 

**SpaceHamster** _ 6:42 AM _

Specifically Nario Kart 7?

 

**You** _ 6:43 AM _

oh im totally down

 

**You** _ 6:43 AM _

where? what time?

 

**SpaceHamster** _ 6:44 AM _

Idk, what works for you?

 

I had reached room 406 and entered the room, not looking up from my phone. I lingered in the doorway after shutting the door, thinking about when and where would work best for me. I didn’t want to invite myself over to his room, so perhaps meeting in room 406 would be best.

 

**You** _ 6:46 AM _

how about my room, right after class?

 

“Whatcha doin’?” Aiko asked.

 

“Texting,” I replied honestly.

 

“Who?”

 

“Jeff,” I said. “Is it cool if he comes over after class so we can play Nario Kart? I kind of already told him it was okay.”

 

“Well, guess I have to say ‘yes’ now,” Aiko said. “So yes. It’s okay.”

 

“Sweet,” I said. I looked back down at my phone. Jeff had replied.

 

**SpaceHamster** _ 6:46 AM _

Yeah! What number is your room?

 

**You** _ 6:48 AM _

406

 

**SpaceHamster** _ 6:49 AM _

Sweet! I’ll meet you there after school :)

 

**You** _ 6:49 AM _

See you then!

 

I turned off my phone and looked up at Aiko. He was staring at me with lowered eyelids.

 

“Don’t like him  _ my ass _ ,” he said. I blushed from embarrassment. I definitely didn’t like Jeff in that way. I was demiromantic, which meant that I had to share a close bond with someone before I could feel romantic attraction. But Aiko? He didn’t really seem to care.

 

“Listen,” I said. “I want to be his friend, that’s it.”

 

“Suuuuure,” Aiko said.

 

I rolled my eyes at him.

 

In about a half an hour, it was time to go to class. I grabbed my Gintendo messenger bag and Aiko grabbed his backpack before we began heading to 206 Poppy Hall.

 

Pushing past bodies in the hallways of the dorms, we walked to Poppy Hall. It didn’t take long for us to get separated, but we regrouped in front of the classroom.

 

“Hey,” I said, “ready?”

 

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Aiko said, yawning. Together, we walked into the classroom.

 

Anzu and Yuri had already found a spot to sit, near the middle of the room. There were two seats right behind them that were open, so Aiko and I made our way towards them and sat down.

 

Immediately, Anzu turned towards us. “Did you hear about the transfer student?”

 

“Sure did,” Aiko said. “Bright pink hair, glasses. Should be pretty hard to miss.”

 

As if on cue, the transfer student walked into the room.

 

And a member of the Normal Boots club, Jon, was with her.

 

Aiko’s jaw dropped as soon as he saw her. He looked as though he was about to say something to me, but quickly shut his mouth when the bell rang.

 

I watched the transfer student. She spoke to Jon, and Jon spoke back. Jon left, and then the transfer student began walking towards a redheaded girl I was pretty sure was on Anzu’s volleyball team.

 

The two of them found a place to sit. I stopped staring, realizing I was being a little creepy.

 

The door to the classroom opened and in walked the teacher. Immediately, those who hadn’t already sat down found a place to sit, and the chatter quieted immensely.

 

“Good morning, class,” the teacher said. She had mousy brown hair, honey-brown eyes, and a menacing smile. “I am your teacher, Shizuka Wakahisa. You may call me  _ Miss _ Shizuka.”

 

She placed extra emphasis on ‘Miss’.

 

“Some of you might have noticed that we have a new student this semester,” she continued. Aiko turned to me.

 

“The transfer student,” he mumbled. I glanced at the pink-haired girl in the back of the room. She looked terrified.

 

“Would you like to come up and introduce yourself?” Miss Shizuka asked, glancing at the transfer student.

 

All eyes were on the pink-haired girl. She nodded, and walked slowly to the front of the room, still looking scared.

 

She turned towards the class, her eyes scanning the room and lingering on one spot. I looked over to where she was looking, and saw a few Normal Boots members. They were all staring at her. One of them was PBG, and his stare was especially odd. He looked like he was unhappy with her.

 

“You moved from Amaririsu, right?” Miss Shizuka ebbed her on. 

 

The transfer student nodded, her throat bobbing as she swallowed nervously.

 

Her eyes moved to another part of the room—towards the redheaded girl she’d been sitting with. The redheaded girl gave her a big smile and a thumbs-up.

 

“Yes…” the transfer student finally spoke, “...I’ve just moved here. My name is Hana Mizuno. I transferred from Amaririsu Public High School. I’m really excited to be here. I hope you’ll all take good care of me from now on.”

 

She bowed her head to the class, and everyone clapped politely. I could see faces of disdain plastered on the features of some students.

 

“Thank you. You may be seated,” Miss Shizuka said. Hana returned to her seat, heaving a small sigh as she did.

 

Miss Shizuka began running through the standard procedure for the year—her policies on due dates, late work, eating in class, etc., etc., and class dragged on, and on, and on until the bell finally rang and it was time for lunch.

 

As Aiko, Anzu, Yuri and I walked out of the classroom, a voice caught my ears.

 

“Hey! Leo!” The voice said. It was the voice of a rapper. A rapper I knew was a member of the Hidden Block club.

 

How did he know my name? Had Jeff or Ian told him?

 

I whipped around to face the voice—Luke Sizemore, a boy with scruff on his face and a snapback on his head, was looking at me and Aiko.

 

Aiko raised an eyebrow at him. I spoke. “Can I help you?”

 

“Jeff wanted me to relay a message,” Luke said. Aiko nudged me. I nudged him back, harder.

 

“Yeah?” I said.

 

“He said you two and your friends are welcome to sit at the Hidden Block table at lunch,” Luke said. “If you want to, that is.”

 

Suddenly, Anzu squealed.  _ Loudly _ . I hadn’t even realized she was behind me.

 

“Jeff wants  _ us _ to sit at the Hidden Block table?!” Anzu exclaimed. “Of course we will!”

 

“Sweet!” Luke said. “Just holler for me if you can’t find the table. The name’s Luke, by the way.”

 

“Yeah, I know,” I said. “Sorry! That was rude.”

 

“Nah, it totally wasn’t,” Luke said. “I get it all the time. Perks of being a schoolwide known musician, I guess. Just thought I’d introduce myself to be polite. I’m guessing you’re Leo?”

 

He gestured towards me. “Yep,” I replied. “That’s Aiko, and that’s Anzu and Yuri.”

 

I gestured towards each person as I introduced them. Luke gave me a thumbs up.

 

“See y’all soon!” Luke said.

 

“Yeah, see ya!” I said. He disappeared into the crowd of teenagers. Anzu squealed again as soon as he was out of earshot.

 

“I can’t believe we’re going to sit at the Hidden Block table!” Anzu exclaimed.

 

Yuri adjusted her glasses with one hand, almost dropping the three books she was holding with the other. “I can’t believe it either!”

 

I bounced on my heels, stimming from happiness. Anzu and Yuri weren’t the only ones who couldn’t believe it. I had Jeff’s number in my phone, I’d beaten PBG at Stomp, and now I was going to sit at Hidden Block’s table!

 

“C’mon! Let’s not keep them waiting!” Anzu said, brushing past me and vanishing into the crowd. Yuri followed. Aiko turned to me with a sly expression.

 

“So, Jeff, huh?” Aiko said teasingly.

 

“Stop it,” I said, only half-serious. “I’ve known him for less than two days, Aiko.”

 

“Love at first sight is  _ totally  _ a thing, I will fight you on this,” Aiko said. Before I had the chance to respond, he took off, and I followed in his wake.

 

The cafeteria was much more crowded than it had been yesterday. We grabbed our lunches and looked around for a place to sit. A flash of yellow suddenly caught my eye and I turned to it; a Hidden Block jacket! It must’ve been their table!

 

Upon further inspection, it seemed as though it wasn’t. There was only one person sitting at that table and it was Ian.

 

Then, a flash of pink approached him. The transfer student.

 

She looked like she was saying something, but the redheaded girl from class swooped in and took her away just before she could finish. 

 

I turned back to my group of friends, who were all busily scanning the cafeteria for any sign of the rest of the Hidden Block guys.

 

“Should we holler?” I asked Aiko. Without hesitation, he yelled into the crowd.

 

“YO! LUKE!”

 

“HEY! OVER HERE!” Luke’s voice yelled back, from behind us. We all turned around and spotted a table sort of near a window where five members of Hidden Block were sitting.

 

All of us traversed the cafeteria towards the table. The seat near Jeff was open, so I set my lunch down there, knowing in the back of my mind that Aiko wouldn’t let me hear the end of it later.

 

Anzu pointed to each Hidden Block member as she sat, apparently counting them.

 

“One, two, three, four, five…” she said quietly. “Aren’t there six of you?”

 

“Ian doesn’t sit with us,” Jeff said, leaning over the table to make eye contact with Anzu. 

 

“Why not?” Aiko asked, sitting next to me.

 

Jeff shrugged. “I don’t know. He just doesn’t.”

 

“We should probably introduce ourselves,” Aiko said through a yawn. “I’m Aiko, that’s Leo, that’s Yuri, and that’s my twin sister, Anzu. It’s nice to meet you all.”

 

“Likewise!” One of the Hidden Block members replied. He had black hair and glasses resting on his nose. “It seems like you already know Luke and Jeff. I’m Wallid, and that’s Jimmy and Caddy.”

 

I offered a small wave in Wallid’s direction.

 

“So,” Jimmy, a younger boy with brown hair and barely noticeable vitiligo said, “what did you four do over break?”

 

“Aiko and me and the rest of my family went on a trip to Peru,” Anzu said, bragging once again. “I learned how to surf. It was awesome.”

 

“Sweeeeet,” Luke said. “Yuri? Leo?”

 

“Oh, I just read books, mostly,” Yuri said. “And I got a job. And I accidentally stood someone up.”

 

Everyone laughed awkwardly. Jeff spoke. “You what?”

 

“I was reading and I had just gotten to the good part and I completely forgot about my date,” Yuri said sheepishly, looking down at her food.

 

“That’s  _ hilarious _ ,” Jimmy said.

 

“I played games,” I said. “That’s all I did. All of break.”

 

“Same,” Wallid said. 

 

“What did you guys do during break?” Aiko asked, quickly stuffing a sesame seed bun in his mouth after he’d spoken.

 

“Games,” Jeff said.

 

Wallid nodded. “Me too.”

 

“Same here,” Jimmy said.

 

“My family visited America,” Caddy answered. “It wasn’t very eventful.”

 

“I made some tunes, y’know, the usual,” Luke said, shrugging. “I played some games, too, though.”

 

“You guys,” Aiko said, pointing his finger in the general direction of all the Hidden Block members, “are nerds.”

 

Everyone laughed. 

 

There was a brief period of silence. I contemplated what to say, but Anzu beat me to it.

 

“Let’s play the question game!” Anzu exclaimed.

 

“What’s that?” Caddy asked.

 

I knew where this was going immediately. Anzu had done this to me and Yuri when we’d first met.

 

“It’s easy,” Anzu began, “We go around clockwise. One person asks a question, everyone else has to answer. It’s just a little get-to-know-you game. I’ll start.”

 

She thought for a moment. “You guys like games, right? What’s your favorite game series?”

 

“Oh, that’s easy,” Jimmy said immediately, leaning back in his chair. “Nokemon. Without a doubt.”

 

“I have to go with Beast Hunter,” Jeff said.

 

“Nokemon for me as well,” Wallid said.

 

“Animal Intersection,” Luke said simply. “Or The Legend of Slurmp.”

 

“Slurmp is up there for me,” I said. “But it’s not quite at the top. I think my top pick has to be either Sanic or Tempo Haven.”

 

“I’m a big fan of Pyro the Dragon,” Caddy said.

 

“I like Sanic,” Aiko said nonchalantly, “partially ironically and partially because Leo likes it.”

 

“I’m not big on games,” Anzu began, “but I really love the concept of the Catamari series.”

 

She turned to Yuri and spoke again. “What about you?”

 

“Oh, I’m like you, I’m not big on games,” she said, quiet enough that I had to strain my ears to hear her over the din of the cafeteria. “But I really like the characters from Life is Weird.”

 

“Oooh, that’s a good series,” I said. “I haven’t played the prequel yet, but I’ve heard it’s super good.”

 

“I just watched someone play it,” Yuri said. “I didn’t play it myself. But yeah, the storyline was amazing.”

 

“Alright! That’s everyone!” Anzu exclaimed. “Yuri! It’s your turn to ask a question.”

 

“Oh, um,” Yuri stammered. She thought for a moment, taking small bites of her food as she did so. “How about...what was your first date like?”

 

“I’ve never been on a date,” I answered.

 

“Never?” Jeff seemed to not believe me.

 

“Never,” I affirmed. 

 

“It’s never too late to start,” Aiko said flatly. I elbowed him, knowing exactly what—and who—he was referring to.

 

“My first date ever was…” Jeff looked up at the ceiling, thinking for a moment. “Oh, god. I think it was when I took my first girlfriend to a superhero movie. She didn’t like it. Honestly, I’m a terrible boyfriend.”

 

“I’m sure you’re not a  _ terrible _ boyfriend,” Anzu attempted to comfort him. He laughed.

 

“Nah, pretty sure I am,” he said.

 

“I took my first date to a concert,” Luke said. “It was kind of awesome. We ended up breaking up eventually, I think it was just because we were too young to be serious about anything yet. It was an awesome concert though.”

 

“That’s cool,” Jimmy said, somewhat glumly. “I’ve never been on any dates either.”

 

“We should start a club,” Wallid said. “The no-dates club.”

 

Jimmy looked towards Wallid, his glum face vanishing. “We totally should,” he said.

 

The two of them high-fived. Jimmy stuck his hand across the table for me to high-five as well, so I did.

 

“God, you’re pathetic,” Caddy said. “Celebrating about not ever going on a date? I can’t imagine being happy about that.”

 

“It’s a thing we have in common,” Jimmy said. “I’d say that’s something to celebrate.”

 

“Whatever,” Caddy rolled his eyes. “My first date was at a mall. Nothing special.”

 

“W-what about you guys?” Yuri turned to Aiko and Anzu.

 

“Oh, jeez, I haven’t gone on a date in a long time,” Anzu said. “I think the girl I went on my first date with took me to a movie. Or was that our second date? I can’t remember.”

 

“You’re gay?” Jimmy asked.

 

“Very,” Anzu replied. “I’m lesbian.”

 

“I haven’t met a lot of gay people at this school other than Ian,” Jimmy said.

 

“I mean, there’s Leo, too,” Anzu said. “So that makes at least three of us.”

 

“You’re gay, Leo?” Jeff asked me.

 

The spotlight was on me; everyone at the table was looking in my direction. “Uh, yeah, I’m gay,” I said. “That’s, not, like, a problem, is it?”

 

“No,” Jeff said. “I was just surprised, is all.”

 

“My first date was at a WcDonald’s,” Aiko changed the subject “I think I’m a worse boyfriend than Jeff.”

 

Jeff chuckled. “We’ve got a club of our own now,” he said, “the bad boyfriends club.”

 

The two of them fist-bumped.

 

We continued asking each other questions and answering them until lunch was over. In the end, I learned a lot about the members of Hidden Block, and the members of Hidden Block learned a lot about me.

 

Class came and went. The bell rang. I rushed out of the classroom, not waiting for Aiko, hoping desperately that I’d make it back to my room before Jeff got there. 

 

I ran up the stairs, Gintendo bag bouncing at my hip. I opened the door to our room and threw my bag on the bed before grabbing my 4DS from my desk and shoving the Nario Kart 7 cartridge inside. Sitting on the bed next to my bag, I checked my phone, just to make sure nobody had texted me.

 

The door opened and I jumped.

 

I breathed a sigh of relief; it was just Aiko. I still had time to catch my breath and steady my heart before Jeff got there.

 

“Were you expecting someone else?” Aiko asked teasingly. I had an impulse to walk across the room and punch him in the nose, but I didn’t.

 

“Jeff,” I replied. “And if you don’t stop teasing me I’m going to tell Anzu.”

 

“Whoa now, no need for threats,” Aiko held up his hands in defense. “I’m just having a little fun.”

 

“Well it’s not fun for  _ me _ ,” I said. 

 

_ Knock knock knockknock knock, knock knock _

 

There was a knock on the door. Aiko, being closer to it than me, answered it.

 

There stood Jeff, a smile on his face, bag slung over his shoulder. Aiko gestured for him to come inside, and he did.

 

“Hey,” he said casually. “Ready to be completely annihilated in Nario Kart?”

 

“You’re the one who’s gonna be annihilated,” Aiko said. “Have you  _ seen _ Leo play Nario Kart? He’s  _ awesome _ .”

 

“We’ll see about that,” Jeff said. He sat his back on the ground next to the bed and dug out his 4DS from one of the pockets. I shifted over so he could sit next to me.

 

“Hi,” I said as he sat down. “Aiko’s just teasing. I’m not  _ that _ good at Nario Kart.”

 

“Neither am I, to be perfectly fair,” Jeff said. He opened his 4DS and I saw that Nario Kart 7 had already been booted up.

 

“If you two need me I’ll be on the top bunk,” Aiko said. “But you’ll need to yell. I’ll have my earbuds in.”

 

“Alright,” I said, giving him a thumbs-up. I opened my own 4DS and started Nario Kart 7, going into the “local multiplayer” mode. I chose my character, created a new game, and waited for Jeff to join. 

 

Quickly, the game began. I’d set the courses to be random, and we ended up on one I absolutely loved.

 

“I love this course,” I said.

 

“You must be good at it, then,” Jeff replied.

 

“You betcha,” I said.

 

“Are you…”

 

I cut him off. “Minnesotan? Yeah,” I said. As I spoke, the countdown for the race began. As soon at the counter hit “2”, I pressed and held the “A” button to give myself a boost.

 

The race began. Immediately, I was in fourth.

 

“If you’re from Minnesota, why come all the way to Japan for high school? Seems like a waste of time and money,” Jeff said.

 

“Aren’t you from America, too?” I asked.

 

“Yeah, but…” Jeff said. I had zoomed into second place and was quickly catching up with the com in first. “...I guess it was my parent’s choice to send me here, not mine. They’re rich and wanted me to go to a good boarding school, to have the experience, you know? And Asagao just seemed like a good fit I guess.”

 

“It’s pretty much the same way for my parents,” I said. “They’ve got money, they want me to have experience, they want me to go to a good school. Asagao it is.”

 

I got a green shell from an item box and threw it at the com in first. It bounced off a wall and hit  _ me _ , instead. I laughed out loud.

 

“What’s so funny?” Jeff asked.

 

“I hit myself with my own shell,” I said. Jeff chuckled.

 

I saw Jeff’s name zoom past me and soon, I was in sixth. Third to last place. Not good.

 

I picked up another item box and got a Bullet Betty. Soon, I was flying past my opponents and towards first place again. But before I could surpass fourth, the powerup ended.

 

“Where in Minnesota are you from?” Jeff asked.

 

“Roseville,” I said. “Not a very exciting place. The State Fair’s near there, I guess. And our library is pretty cool. But other than that…”

 

“Yeah, I haven’t heard of it,” Jeff said. “Is it near the Twin Cities?”

 

“Depends on where in the cities you are,” I said. “If you’re talking about downtown Saint Paul, then it’s about a half an hour drive.”

 

“Oh, okay,” Jeff said.

 

I got a blue shell and threw it immediately. Soon after, I heard Jeff yell.

 

“Was that you?!” He exclaimed. I giggled. I was now in third place, and I was quickly catching up to Jeff, who had been pushed back to second.

 

We continued playing in semi-peaceful silence. I surpassed Jeff, sending him to third place, and, using my super awesome Nario Kart skills, managed to finish the race in first.

 

“Okay,  _ wow _ ,” Jeff said. “Aiko was right. You  _ are _ good.”

 

“It’s just the course, I swear,” I said. “It’s one of my favorites, so obviously I’d be good at it.”

 

“What other ones are your favorites?” Jeff asked.

 

I listed them all off, including Spectral Road. Though I was fairly terrible at that one (who wasn’t), it was still one of the prettiest courses in the game.

 

We continued playing, making casual conversation as we did so. I ended up winning most of the games, with Jeff coming in at a close second or third.

 

“Well,” Jeff said, looking at the alarm clock on my nightstand. “I’d better get going.”

 

“Aw,” I said disappointedly, “it was nice playing with you though!”

 

“Yeah, for sure!” Jeff exclaimed, standing up and grabbing his bag from off the floor. “See you tomorrow at lunch?”

 

“Absolutely.”


End file.
